Meet and Greet at Tempelhof airport

Hello my Aviator, it was nice meeting you in person! After receiving numerous requests for a meet and greet I finally was able to realize such an event. It was not easy to find the perfect location, because I wanted to meet you at a special place which relates to aviation. In the end we meet at Tempelhof airport to do a guided tour together. In this blog post I am summing up the Funday in some photos, live video and interesting facts about the historic airport.

I am coming my Aviators / Departure hall of Tempelhof airport

Meet and Greet

On my Facebook page “PilotPatrick” I invited everyone to join me for this special guided tour. Unfortunately, space was limited, so I could only accept the first 25 people who signed up for the tour. The guest list filled up quickly after launching the event. On that day I was a little bit worried that a lot of people would cancel last minute, but in the end, everyone came who signed up for it. It made me really happy to see that I can count on you.

Rosinen Bomber in the hangar

Guided tour

Meeting point for the Meet and Greet was the former General Aviation Terminal. That is where private pilots and VIPs used to depart from. After a warm welcome, I handed out the tickets to everyone. Lars our tour guide started right away. He showed us the highlights of the impressive building. Especially the inside of the airport is worth seeing. During the tour, he explained us interesting history and facts of the Tempelhof airport. I am really sad about the decision to close the airport for flight operations in 2008. The location and the short ways would still be ideal for private pilots and VIP flights. I do understand the noise aspect, but through night flying restriction and special operating procedures, like in London city airport, Tempelhof airport could have been integrated into the city well.

After almost two exciting hours we returned back at the GAT. Now we finally had some time to chat and take photos. I was more than happy to answer questions and get to know everyone. Thanks for coming and realizing this event.

Visiting the roof top Tempelhof airport

Facts about Tempelhof airport

How big is the entire airport area?

The size of the former airfield along with the building is 355 ha. Out of this, the Tempelhof field occupies 300 ha and the airport building with its concrete apron and outer areas 55 ha.

How large is the airport building?

The airport building is approximately 1.2 km long. It has a gross floor area of 300,000 m², of which approximately 200,000m² is usable. One of the biggest buildings of the world.

When was an airport established here?

As early as the beginning of the 20th century famous aviation pioneers carried out their first flight attempts here. In 1923 the location was established as “Airport Tempelhof”. The first airport building on the eastern Tempelhof field was constructed in 1926. This was soon no longer sufficient. The construction of the current airport building began in 1936.

How is the airport building used now?

The airport building accommodates more than 100 tenants from the most diverse branches right from Chief of Police to a dance school. Around a third of the building is still unrenovated and will be gradually developed in the next few years.

How is the Tempelhof field used?

Since its opening in May 2010, the Tempelhof field is intensively used for recreational activities. Here you can skate, grill, jog, fly a kite, take a dog on a walk etc.

Livestream

To enable that everyone worldwide can join the tour I went live on Facebook and Instagram. We went live when reaching the rooftop which gives you a spectacular view over the Tempelhof field. The plan was to have a chat on the roof but then it started to rain really bad. Unfortunately, the live stream stopped once we approached the bomb shelters at the lower floors. Watch some highlights during the live video:

We went on a time journey and discovered the impressive inside of the Tempelhof airport. The best for me was to meet some of my Aviators on that day. I hope that I will have the chance to do such an event soon again. Maybe in a different city and even bigger so, I can invite more people!

Thanks again to Tempelhof airport for realizing this tour for us. If you are interested in a guided tour please visit the official tour website.

In which city should I plan my next meet and greet event? Please comment below.

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ABOUT ME

Hello my Aviator!

I am Patrick Biedenkapp from Germany and I am a commercial pilot. After flying a business jet, I am now type rated on the Airbus A300. Since September 2016 I have been blogging about my pilot life and my healthy life style. Besides many travel tips you will find pots about aviation and my travels around the world. Always happy landings!

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16 Comments

Polina2 years ago

Hello, Patrick!
Thanks so much for showing this beautiful and interesting place.I’m happy for these people and envy them at the same time. And I’m glad for you that you got it.
I hope to attend such a meeting someday.
Thanks for the tour and good luck!!

Hello Patrick, thank you very much for the wonderful tour. I was an exciting event. We learned a lot about aviation and the long and interesting history of Tempelhof airport. I can recommend such a visit to everybody who is interested in aviation and it’s history.

Hello capt. Patrick. This blog always amazing. Lil bit envy with them who joined to have special meet and greet with you. Hopefuly all your big fans in entire the world have a chance to meet with you and sharing about aviation life.
Since, i followed your social media, it made me interest to know about aviation life more and more. You were much inspired me
Greetings from Indonesia!

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Hello Aviator! I am Patrick Biedenkapp from Germany and I am a Captain. After flying a Business Jet, I am now type rated on an Airbus A300. Since September 2016 I have been blogging about my pilot life and my healthy life style. Besides many travel tips you will find posts about aviation and my travels around the world. Safe travels and happy landings.